Agribusiness and climate change

Climate science is shaking up the world as we know it. It is destabilising the establishment and threatening the interests of some of the most powerful financial groups. The facts regarding the key causes of climate change are also challenging many of our most favourite everyday assumptions and habits.
We now know that fossil fuel conglomerates have hidden information regarding the destructive impact of the fossil fuel industry on the climate. They also invested in false scientific information to deny that climate change is real and have used their power to suppress green energy alternatives.
Recently, Kip Andersen, Keegan Kuhn, the directors of the film Cowspiracy, have brought to global attention another well-kept ‘secret’. They expose the incredibly lucrative animal agriculture industry as the other key, if not the primary cause of climate change. We are also now learning about the manoeuvrings of animal agriculture lobbyists to keep this information hidden from public attention.
Animal agriculture is a leading cause of greenhouse-gas emissions, water waste, water pollution, ocean dead zones, deforestation, habitat destruction and species extinction that each significantly impacts the climate. Additionally, the impact of the hormones, pesticides and antibiotics on the planet is devastating. A United Nations Environment Programme report emphasizes that a global shift towards a vegan diet is vital to save the world from hunger, fuel poverty and the worst impacts of climate change.
From a human health perspective, many studies reveal that eating animal products is one of the leading causes of the health crises we face today. The well-known ‘China Study’, for instance, led by Cornell Professor Colin Campbell, shows that many chronic diseases are linked to the eating of animal products. More and more medical doctors are advocating plant based diets for healing paths as well as preventative medicine.
And then of course, beyond science and personal health there is the issue of compassion. The meat and dairy industry is a horrifically cruel one that sentences billions of sentient beings to lives and deaths of excruciating suffering. For those honest souls who dare to face the truth of what is on their plates, there are countless videos available on YouTube taken by undercover animal activists that reveal the range of atrocities involved in the production of the nicely packaged final food products.
Through whichever prism we choose to look, the reality of the animal agribusiness is gruesome and dangerous not only to the animals exploited for human gain, but for the people who consume these animal products, and for the planet and all its inhabitants. The evidence shows clearly that as an interconnected eco-system, all countries should be working together to divest from the meat and dairy industry and invest in organic, vegan plant-based nutrition and agriculture. So why don’t they? The main reason is that there is a lot of money invested in hiding the facts and maintaining the status quo.
In November 2015 the UN Climate Change Conference will take place in Paris. Global policy makers will be making decisions that will impact the future of the planet. Unfortunately those with vested interests will be working hard to protect and promote the animal agriculture business. The meat and dairy industries are financial giants. We can expect them to be lobbying hard, presenting scientific misinformation and offering vague long term strategies and goals in a language of compromise and legal loopholes to ensure the status quo is maintained for as long as possible. That is why we need to ensure that the animal agribusiness is urgently, honestly and comprehensively addressed at this landmark event.
This article originally appeared as: ‘For the love of animals... and planet’.
Courtesy: Commondreams.org